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stella_81
Reviews
Ms. Marvel (2022)
A small marvel
In just six episodes this series managed to make us fall in love with Kamala and her world. Disney and Marvel should take a note from Ms. Marvel: weave stories around well rounded characters and let them lead the plot. Fan service and fun cgi are ultimately hollow and will never be as compelling as a well written character. At the end we care because we know who Kamala is and what Kamala's core values and ideals are, not because some scene looked like the comics it's referencing.
The Outfit (2022)
I simply loved it.
The cutting and sewing scenes are a visual delight, even more so in their accuracy; they will make you think about the quiet obsession for perfection of Phantom Thread. On this precise framework director Graham Moore cuts a bespoke story woven around a sparse yet powerful cast, in a carefully mastered whodunnit that keeps the pressure steady on to its crescendo until the final release. The mise en scene keeps the focus on the actors' dialogues, and probably pays tribute to Hitchcock's Rope, but never resulting forced. Mark Rylance plays the tailor, pardon the cutter, with a controlled aloofness, but lets shine a twinkle of inner turmoil in his eyes and the sharpness of his wit, cutting himself loose from the situation he finds himself in. Probably one of the films I've enjoyed the most so far this year.
And Just Like That...: Seeing the Light (2022)
*
I haven't loved this second iteraction of SATC as much I wanted and I still wonder if there's a place for And just like that in 2022, but I can surely say that after Transparent I had miss Hari Nef so very much.
Ghosts: Pilot (2021)
Nope.
Though this pilot is retelling bit by bit its English counterpart recycling every single gag and plot point it doesn't come out as funny, charming or interesting. The ghosts in the uk version work as caricatures but they're more nuanced, they're not as grotesque and stereotypical. The set in this American version is also as fake as the characters, the stage lighting it's the same as any 3 camera sit com you have seen. It reads very artificial; the delivery and comedic timing of the actors doesn't help as well. I'm sticking to it hoping it finally stops copying the original Ghosts, but if you are starting this without knowing the Uk version, do yourself a favour and go watch Allison and Mike, meet and all the ghosts of Button House.
RuPaul's Drag Race: Grand Finale (2021)
Am I wrong or RuPaul didn't say
"Everybody say "LOVE!"?
It's always one of my favourite parts.
That aside, I'm so glad Symone won, YAY! Truly deserved <3 she's so warm, talented and funny. Her style is amazing, it's clever and glamorous and it still manages to convey a message.
She and Gottmik were the highlights of this season. Rosè was a close one. Personally speaking I would have preferred either of them in 2nd place instead of Kandy Muse, though I think that in the lip-synch she bested Rosè, whose performance maybe suffered from her injury but had a far better season overall. The finale was quite bareboned compared to the standard, but I suspect covid got the best of it, and you could feel the warmth of family and audience wasn't quite there.
Chilling Adventures of Sabrina: Chapter Thirty-Six: At the Mountains of Madness (2020)
Meh.
Could have done without the last 3 minutes. Do I honestly need know that Sabrina and Nick are snogging for all eternity in the afterlife after Nick pulled a very cheap Romeo & Juliet? Ew, no.
I'd be curious to know how this episode originally was since the series' fate was still in the balance up until not so long ago. Now it's ill paced, with a lot of exposition, not much set up and not very conclusive in terms of characters' arcs. Could have been a better goodbye to the series.
Lovecraft Country: Whitey's on the Moon (2020)
Can the bad reviews please hold on a sec?
We are at the SECOND episode, whatever happened clearly didn't resolve any conflict, it probably just set things in motion. We barely have any piece of the puzzle, It's too early to judge. So chill.
Desperados (2020)
American Bridget Jones
...is very very very predictable. And not that funny either.
Star Wars: Episode IX - The Rise of Skywalker (2019)
Going backwards
To me episode IX will always be Colin Trevorrow's unused script "Duel of the Fates".
I don't blame Kathleen Kennedy for what we got instead, we'll probably never know what really happened and why something logical yet original like Duel of Fates never came to be, but I sense a common thread with the contemporary cinema landscape: everything is done to maximise profit, make more of the same if that is easily digestible by the audience. Plot twist -it really turns out corporations are soulless, which is in antithesis with any good artistic endeavour. You HAVE TO take risks, take yourself boldly where no one has been before. The Rise of Skywalker is a waste of potential sacrificed for the sake of staying safe, it tries to appease the masses so that in the end no one is really happy about it.
Mostly, it's an empty vessel of cool concepts put together without much care, a Pavlovian experiment gone awry: you can't keep flashing bits of trivia from the past movies and let them do the heavy lifting with the emotional journey of the audience, it's cheap and weak. The audience is not made of dogs, at least most of us; we don't start to drool at the name "Skywalker".
This the time I really made my mind about JJ Abrams though, he's not the director for me. He can contradict me, but he's the director of aesthetics over substance, of breathless-fast paced-don't think-don't feel editing over character driven stories.
And he. can't. stick. a landing.
(speaking of the ending, the fate of Rey is as heartbreaking as the thought of Anakin Skywalker sacrificing himself for nothing. At the beginning of this saga Rey is lonely on a desert planet with a droid that's not hers, she made a family in the resistance, but we leave her yet again lonely on a desert planet with a droid that's not hers for the sake of showing Tattoine and her calling herself a Skywalker. Bet sounded cool in JJ's head but it really isn't.
And for the sake of throwing names around it would have make more sense for Rey to choose the name Organa.)
Westworld: Crisis Theory (2020)
Kinda okay, I guess.
I don't see how people can still compare this season and expect the brilliance of season 1, you clearly can't pull that kind of trick twice. Sci-fi at its best can question and teach you about the human condition, and this season still does, here and there, but sparsely.
The main issue with Westworld has always being character development, even through three season I yet have to start caring for any of its characters and their well-being. When you factor that in with 8 episodes per season, a gap of two years, and a storyline that sometimes feels like a fools errand you can forgive me if my interest starts to dwindle.
Trolls World Tour (2020)
Untrue.
A world where everyone looks the same and listens to the same music? That's pop music. Pop music devours any genuine idea and repeats until it loses any meaning or value. Rock has always been a subculture where one could be different, original, in a word: themselves.
Kids with a healthy knowledge of rock music will feel heartbroken and misrepresented because of this cliche-filled movie.
As for me I love Rachel Bloom and would have loved to see her in a part where she could let her talent shine, here she gets lost in the background.
Little Women (2019)
The Little Women I've always wished to see
None of the cast and director will ever read this, but thank you.
Untamed Heart (1993)
troublesome.
It might be my perspective, set in 2019, but this movie depicts a grim picture for women, if the only way to be unapologetically themselves, insecurities and all, and be loved for it unconditionally, is to find a waif-like man who never had much contact with people, or having been loved at all. I know it's a trope that goes for both sexes which is near and dear to Hollywood, but I can't find myself buying. One trope I find totally unacceptable is the "I break into your room every night to watch you sleep", how that is supposed to be romantic will always be beyond me, that's creepy and unsafe and a huge red flag, it should NEVER be depicted as an endearing act of love.
Star Wars: Episode VIII - The Last Jedi (2017)
One day you'll realise The Last Jedi is one of the good ones..
...Or one of the best ones. Please allow me to explain why.
The first Star Wars saga is famously based on western movies and classic tropes: Han is the impulsive, lonely cowboy who tends to solve his problems by shooting at them (Han shot first!) without much consideration about the consequences; Luke is the naive nobody who finds himself on the adventure he always desired only to find out it's not what he thought it would be, for better or worse, and he will never be the same; he also is the moral compass of the story and he will always come to save his friends and do the right thing. What about Leia? We know she's the fierce leader of the resistance, only in the movies we mostly see her needing to be rescued from this or that peril. She is objectively the damsel in distress and the potential love interest for both our male characters, nothing more. Sounds about right?
Wonder why growing up I could never identify with any female characters in fantasy movies? The never ending story? No, the empress needs saving. Back to the future? Nope, Jennifer needs saving. She is also unconscious most of the time. Indiana Jones? The main protagonist is in the title, women need saving or they're traitors. Or both. And the list goes on.
We finally get to this new trilogy. JJ Abrams is a decent director but he's not very innovative, he operates on nostalgia. Look at Super 8 and Star Trek. He got to reignite the spark after the prequels, I'll give you that, but he changed the characters' names and kept pretty much the same equation: Poe is like Han, brave, always on the frontline, guns at hand. He switched things with Rey, like Luke she's the one with the force and comes apparently from nothing (with the hint of coming from more, like Dart Vader) and Finn is a nuanced rebel trying to find his place. Who they are got switched but what they do stayed the same to the original trilogy, Rey still needs saving, even if we get her to fight the final battle with Kylo Ren. Hey, it's 2019.
If you considered the macro plot of the Force awakens you still get "A New Hope"... oh my god, they even have to destroy a Death Star-type of weapon.
We are now arrived to The Last Jedi, thank you if you are still with me. So far we had epic battles with countless losses on both sides, but have you ever felt it? What do you think when x wing pilots keep dying before Luke arrives to destroy the Death Star? Nothing. You feel nothing. So when the movie opens we find Poe yet again ready to go all in, guns blazing and destroy the enemy ships no matter the consequences. This is his character core. Except this time you see the consequences of his choices and understand it's not always the right call. This time his arch is to shed his space cowboy persona and understand that sometimes you have to see the bigger picture, think about others and trust the line of command, they might be operating on everyone's best interests, and he shouldn't be so presumptuous as to be always in the loop, he has, simply put, to know his place and play his part in the resistance, if he wants to be part of it. The core of Finn's arch has always been his struggle to detach himself from the storm trooper he was and fight against his past life and not simply flee. You'd expect him to embrace this role in the end even if it costs his life. There's a much more interesting third way, though. He can learn to fight and not lose himself, assuming the moral values of fighting for what he loves and not dying for what he hates. These moral values come from Rose, she is the moral compass this time (everyone dislikes her, but I sense it's more because she's a woman than anything else, righteous women are petulant, men are just). That's why the major detour from the main plot exists. I agree that it changes the pace greatly, but it's essential nonetheless. Without it Finn would only act to protect Rey or run away. Without it Poe would always think his decisions are better than others'. (Besides, I don't get why the cantina scene it's funny but here it's ridiculous.)
And we finally arrive to Rey and Luke's arches. The Jedi. I don't know where the regular fanboys got that Jedi should be without fault, sure it says so in the code, but if you consider the story so far the path of a Jedi is the opposite, really. If you don't die you either fall to the dark side or end up a kooky hermit like Obi-Wan or Yoda. Why Luke should be any different? Sure he had great potential, but there's a far better story in a man that wasted his best years and manages to come back to himself and the force. History is full of people who once showed great promises only to amount to nothing. Why is so unthinkable to people? Does he always have to be in the right? The righteous one? Oh, it's fine when is he and god forbid he strains from the path you all think he belongs to, but when Rey and Rose share similar traits they're insufferable Mary Sues.
Finally we have strong female characters who are agents of their destinies and the destiny of others. I'm so glad there are finally little girls who will have the chance to see themselves in them, to play with and love their characters. And I'm glad we finally get to see Leia use the force! Even if it's a sliver of what her trained brother has shown. Leia and Luke are siblings, why should we be seeing the force only manifest in Luke?!?!
There's no telling where JJ Abrams will take us next, but I think Rian Johnson was leading Rey to new grounds, the dichotomy between good and evil and black and white of the Jedi moral code has to pass. That doesn't mean choosing to side with Kylo Ren, she still chooses good. I mean the stoic path of the detached, emotionless Jedi. It doesn't work, history proved it again and again. Again Johnson broke from tradition the smart way. Finally I love that Rey's parents are nobodies, just like the kid with the broom at the end it's showing generations of Star Wars fans that anyone can be special, that can be a hero, not because it's in your blood, but because you choose to, and you too, through trials and errors, can become one.
The only time I think he purposely defied fans' expectations was with Snoke.
Frankly I'm thankful for it; if he turned out to be exactly who everyone was expecting, the story would again feel trite, you exactly would know what to expect from the third final film and this second one would have just been a link between The Force Awakens and The Rise of Skywalker.
No, the task of The Last Jedi was to defy expectations and bring us to uncharted territories for the first time ever, you had to sense it when you saw that giant spaceship in a cloud of steam, only it was just an iron.
Little Italy (2018)
An insult to Italy, little or big.
Also you keep expecting Hayden Christensen to start talking about sand.
Amarcord (1973)
A m'arcord
I wish that everyone disappointed with this film could see it through my eyes. Or at least take a trip to Rimini, the city I grew up in. There is so much of its spirit in Amarcord, even though it's shot on a stage in Cinecittà that only resembles the original; even the campiest, most improbable characters sound like someone you knew or someone you heard of. There's a certain quality -for bad and for good- to the people depicted in Amarcord, a restlessness for life, love, and their celebration and consumption that you can find in the people of Rimini and Romagna, even past its heyday. As improbable as each vignette may sound to everyone else, believe me, I do believe there's a kernel of thruth in there.
You can ask anyone who lived in the area in 50s/60s for similar stories next time you find yourself in Rimini.
The Magicians: No Better to Be Safe Than Sorry (2019)
Small -yet fundamental objects
Hear me out: I think Quentin's story is poetic and cathartic.
His gift goes way beyond the mending of small objects, by the end of this season he managed to mend his broken relationship with Fillory and Alice and most importantly, with himself. He didn't die a broken man, filled with disillusionment and dispair, alone and unloved. And the good thing is that he didn't do it with magic, instead he faced his problems one by one starting with his complicated relationship with his parents; with Alice's help he understood that the uneasiness and frustration he felt as an adult having to put away childish things was self imposed, you can grow up and appreciate things and life through a different, kinder, softer lens and in the process learning to do the most important thing of all: loving and forgiving yourself. I think it's a good message with anyone struggling with mental health. He didn't die because he wanted to, he died loving his friends and life and deciding to sacrifice himself for the people he loved. When we first met Quentin he was alone in his room, nose yet again in a Fillory book, avoiding to feel completely alone with a party outside his door. By the end of his journey he left a (literal) circle of close friends who love him and understand him and whose lives are forever changed by his presence. I'm sad to see him gone but I think I'm also good with that.
Ps:/ - For all we know Quentin came back to Alice knowing that Eliot had refused him, still it's undeniable they love each other very much and they know it. I can appreciate the sentimental honesty to recognise love when it stares you in the face, no matter what gender it has.
- the Julia/Eliot conundrum: she was somewhere in the god/human spectrum, her body was immortal and constantly trying to heal itself, the magic weapon gave her a wound that wanted to stay open, I guess you could argue it's better to be human like Eliot and walk with a open wound. For other small imperfections, see: nothing is perfect, yet it deserves to be loved. I loved this season and I can't wait for season 5.
Game of Thrones: The Bells (2019)
For the first time...
Every unexpected twist and turn in the game of thrones as always felt like a gut punch, but the kind you found yourself to like, and tv never hurt so good. This episode has a different taste though, and while I found myself yet again in awe of Miguel Sapochnik's masterful and suspenseful directing, I can't help but think that the last major swerve was a forced one. I'm the first to appreciate when a screenwriter can exceed my imagination and catch me off guard, especially with good writing. I wasn't expecting every character to have an happy ending, or to survive, even. I do feel that the recent change in the character of Daenerys, despite all the little clue-crumbs left along the previous episodes in the season, is forced and only serves to pave the way for Jon, just so that the audience can have no doubt to who's the rightful king to win the game of thrones. That's cheap. If anything the series always gave us well rounded characters, all shades of grey characters. For the first time I'm not impressed.
Timeless: The Miracle of Christmas Part I/II (2018)
So many Christmas miracles!
All in all yet another enjoyable episode, although it felt from time to time a bit rushed (I guess two hours weren't probably enough) and it got predictable here and there - which is a first for this show. The first half especially had your head spin by the number of flukes and deus ex machina that helped speed the plot. Unlike other reviews I can appreciate the characters arches (come on, we all knew we would get there!) and the moral, although I must say the plot itself wraps its loose ends quite too neatly (is it because it's a Christmas present?); and the unstoppable Rittenhouse machine gets stopped quite too easily. This series had set our expectations on another level.
Now the real Christmas miracle we need is for some other channel to pick up where we left, I'm ready to turn a blind eye on the minutia required to revive the story.
Everything, Everything (2017)
A short review in style of the main character.
As YA stories go, this belong to the lower level of YA hell: the trite, unoriginal, cheesy tale of two main characters that should sound original and quirky (aquamarine! Lord of the flies!) -only not at all; up until the easy-fix-big-plot-twist where we enter horror film territory, hardly mistakable for motherly love, which for someone who is REALLY living her life with a autoimmune disorder sounds just cruel and offensive.
Timeless (2016)
CANCELED AGAIN?!?
I'm heartbroken that NBC decided to cancel this show again after it was brought back last season by popular demand.
If anything, season 2 proved there was solid story arch worth pursuing, along with increasingly endearing characters, and a keen eye for historical costumes and events, to a degree far superior to a tv show with such a budget. All those unanswered questions...